Federal prosecutors say the gang's violent code required the killings, because it calls for the murder of rival gang members or anyone who shows disrespect toward MS-13.

Eastern District Assistant United States Attorney John Durham noted in his final remarks in federal court in Central Islip that the spree of five killings in February and March of 2010 happened almost exactly three years ago.

Defense attorneys maintain several fellow gang members falsely testified against their clients in return for lighter sentences for their own crimes.

Further, defense attorneys maintain that signed confessions to the killings obtained from Martinez and Ortega by FBI agents and New York City and Nassau and Suffolk county detectives were not credible because they were not recorded.